Moved: Americans, Do your Part Re: Health Care Insurance

I know many here have expensive health care, no health care, limited health care. Struggle with their health insurance carriers.

I've had Medicare since I turned 65 and I have had absolutely no problems with it. It's great and runs very smoothly by our govt.

Our candidates offer their health insurance plans and I urge you all to **read their websites** and be informed on what is being proposed for America's health care insurance.

I know many who struggle with very HIGH Premiums and Deductibles and low payouts.

Do your part and get out and VOTE for the plan that sounds best to you. I know what sounds best for me. jam

PS: One candidate offers a health care plan similar to what is given to our govt. officials and if it's good enough for them, why not WE the PEOPLE they serve.

[This Message was Edited on 08/03/2008]

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RatsWife

Healthcare Insurance Costs & Voting 08/03/08 10:59 AM

Looking at this issue from a perspective of a political podium, the words sound marvelous. The trouble is they never follow through.

The other side of the trouble coin is it's made into a party issue and that dooms it to failure, too.

A national program, with variations so it can be structured to meet the differing needs of the insured, would need a majority support from the full Congress (both The House and The Senate), and then be signed into law by The White House; AND would require a balanced national budget with little or no national debt.

We're talking in the low trillions of dollars at current cost projections. Billions are yesterday's numbers.

If you give any credence to that marvelous article someone posted today from The Washington Post about falling numbers of general medicine and internal medicine doctors coming out of residency, and see the problems that we'll all be facing for some years to come, then a federally funded insurance program -- no matter how varied and diverse -- will still have us with few doctors who'll benefit those with off-the-curve illnesses like ours.

All we need do is look at the dynamics of Medicare and Medicaid, and can see how impossible a federally funded insurance will be.

Now if they want to pass legislation that would force private health insurance companies to offer discounted coverage that is in tandem with some kind of reimbursement from the government, then we might see this begin to happen, but slowly.

The overhead costs of getting the fed involved with anything are tremendous, and the percentages for abuse of the system (fraudulent claims, for instance, and their oversight) increase exponentially.

Frankly, I don't see our government doing anything positive about healthcare insurance for the average American who can't afford coverage on their own.

Why? Because they and we would all have to give some things up, plain and simple.

We can't fight global wars AND have national health insurance for everyone that needs it.

We can't subsidize major corporations involved with oil and coal activities AND have national health insurance for everyone that needs it.

Shoot, they had a devil of a time just getting out most of those stupid "incentive" checks because the monies were not there.

They've had to shift budget from hundreds of other areas in the government, excluding subsidies and the military budgets as those were actually increased, not decreased.

Richard Pryor was a vulgar comic but a brilliant intellect. One of his most enlightened sayings was "I got mine. You get yours."

This saying exactly describes where we are in the US today. Those that "have" have a lot and the rest of us, from the upper middle-class to the lowest of the lower-income class have less than we've ever had.

Washington will NEVER pass any credible legislation that would give taxpayers and all other citizens coverage like each representative and their families enjoy -- at OUR expense.

Like Richard said, they've got theirs and the rest of us are out of luck. And there is absolutely nobody on The Hill in DC who has the guts or the power to make it any other way. They are all cut from the same cloth these days -- and that just reeks!

It's occurred to me more than once. Perhaps we, The Consumers, should be working harder on this issue. Contacting all of the major healthcare insurance providers often and loudly, to tell them that their coverages are out-of-line.

Add your state insurance commissioners and commissions to those contacts as they help regulate insurance costs of all kinds on the local level.

Get our locally elected officials involved, too. They're all being far too quiet on this issue because everyone's afraid they won't make the "good old boy" club.

But just telling an official you won't vote for them because of their lack of action on this issue isn't effective.

Those that don't want to see national insurance for most Americans -- and believe me there are a few million of them -- will continue to vote for these officials to keep them in office so nothing changes.

All we can do is VOICE our demands at every level and not shut up.

When the grassroots voters truly begin to fall away from these deadwood officials at all the local levels, and they see that unless they support national insurance and fight for it, they won't make it on the political and public service playing field, then we'll see national healthcare insurance become a reality.

We need officials that enter their public service careers with this issue as a primary stance and with proven results already accumulating in their dossiers.

Look around you. There are very few politicians who run for high office at the beginning of their careers.

They by and large start locally, and that is where we need to get them working on this, not trying to re-train or pester old-timers who play the game by the "I got mine" formula.

Whew. I'm so sorry this is long-winded, but it's an issue of such critical importance in our country, and to me personally because my family has reached the point where we can no longer afford our premiums.

Should some series of miracles happen, we'd still miss the boat because time is no longer on our side. This is the real terror my family is facing -- getting sick and having no options for good medical care.

Peace and Gentle Hugs,
RsW

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jaminhealth

being an aging senior 08/03/08 11:12 AM

i can only say how good Social Security and Medicare has worked in my life.

In the days when I was fully employed, all my employers offered health insurance FREE, I never paid for health insurance.

Those days are GONE. So what is the answer to help our brothers and sisters in this country. Why are we here?

This is just an FYI. VOTE. I don't want to get this into a political battle, but so many here are struggling with their health and any kind of insurance.

FDR, was the sitting president when Social Security was enacted.

LBJ, was the sitting president and signer of Medicare.

Change can and has taken place.

[This Message was Edited on 08/03/2008]

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AndrewB

McCain Women's Clinic 08/03/08 12:35 PM

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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jaminhealth

I don't think we need to get 08/03/08 12:43 PM

angry here. Please. This is just an FYI for people to tkae some action on their own. jam

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mbofov

Jam -- 08/03/08 12:58 PM

Thanks for prodding us. Frontline had an excellent program a few months back which looked at health care in 5 countries: Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Thailand and one of the Scandinavian countries (I forget which one). All of these countries had some form of universal health care, all structured in different ways.

But, in each country, every citizen was covered. And no one in any of these countries ever went backrupt due to medical bills.

No, it's not perfect, but they were all a heck of a lot better than the U.S. system. They were all horrified at the costs of health care in the U.S. and the lack of coverage for so many here.

It's not impossible. We've just been brainwashed that it is, and that "socialism" is a dirty word. We take it for granted that everyone here is entitled to education grades 1-12. That's socialized education. We have a socialized police and fire departments, etc. etc. etc.

One big difference in those countries is that health care is a not-for-profit industry, and the governemtns are allowed to bargain with manufacturers of prescription drugs (which was banned here).

The money spent on managing health care in those countries is a fraction of what is spent here. There you don't have to fight for everything. You just get what you need. They don't have layers of bureaucrats scrutinizing and denying needed care, which we have here.

It can be done. But I think the U.S. public needs to get over its fear of "socialized" medicine. We have socialized education, etc. Health care should be no different.

Mary

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cookie1960

I think... 08/03/08 01:00 PM

...this is the wrong forum for any kind of political overtone. If you tell me one of the candidates has a specific platform re: FM/CFS, than I'm interested. If not, it's just the same old rhetoric that comes out ever four years no matter what political party you are affiliated with.

This belongs on chit chat.

~Cookie~

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jaminhealth

our general overall health 08/03/08 01:14 PM

is all connected in the FM/CFS syndromes.

I hope this doesn't get deleted as we the people can work on the change for we the people.

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lichu3

I agree with Jam here......................... 08/03/08 05:17 PM

this post has nothing to do with supporting one or the other candidate, just suggesting people think about the healthcare issues brought up by various candidates.

I am worried about having adequate or any insurance and from reading posts in the past, it looks like others are affected as well. There have been many posts regarding how to afford care/ meds.

It is true that with CFS/FM there are more barriers due to lack of standard diagnosis and treatment options. But many here have other or (knock on wood that it doesn't happen) will develop other conditions that are treatable medically but not realistically treatable due to financial constraints.

We would do well to remember that despite their money, big companies, rich folks, etc. are all still just entitled to one vote.

There is money available for better health care but too often, millions/ billions are spent on other projects. Our elected officials need to hear that health care is a priority issue for many of us.

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caledonia

my kind of health insurance 08/03/08 05:38 PM

my kind of health insurance would pay for naturopathic supplements. i've never heard of anything like that and i guess that's a million years in the future when i'll be dead....

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grammy27

This is a political post 08/03/08 05:55 PM

...and belongs on the chit-chat board, if on this site at all. The title also is misleading. Please move it to chit-chat.
[This Message was Edited on 08/03/2008]

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findmind

jaminhealth and this posting 08/03/08 06:21 PM

This is a really thought-provoking post, and I would like to see it moved to the chit-chat board, where most subjects are tolerated.

....I just have to say that a whole big part of the problem in the USA is that people have a habit of saying " I will only vote for what will work best for me" this necessarily then overlooks the millions of people who cannot qualify for any form of health insurance. We should, as caring people, be voting for what is best for ALL Americans, not just a few.

The USA is the only country in the Civilized World that does NOT have Universal Health Care for all.

I am unhappy when I hear people say that they are doing OK with what they have. Does this imply they therefore don't care about others not so fortunate? Maybe with that sort of attitude, all the sick and poor people will just die off and leave all the goodies for only those who get a piece of the pie already so they can get a bigger piece than they have now.

It is shameful that people are so selfish here when it comes to the poor-many of whom are poor through no fault of their own-most poor people work hard at minimum wage jobs, it is corporate America that is greedy and takes all the pork barrel money they can get their hands on.

I guess, practically, Americans probably cannot afford to continue to have most expensive healthcare in world and yet have substandard, whimsical, care.

I know a few people with double or triple healthcare coverage. One couple covered mainly because he sold insurance, the other by railroad benefits and work benefits. I'm glad someone's covered in America.

Meanwhile, most people (Americans, that is) are lucky to have any coverage.

Guess one of those problems where solutions are available, but no political will.

BTW, personally I'm sick of these "Run for Life" feel good events. Everyone runs around a circular track to raise money for the Sick Child of the Year. Give me a break. Grumble, Grumble. Rave and Rant.

Oh, I wonder sometimes about how low car insurance would be with universal healthcare.
Instead of MediCal, Medicare, veterans hospitals, workman's comp, and a hundred HMO's maybe just have one simple system.

Oh, I forgot, HMO's give huge amounts of money to politicians.

I keep dreaming of a way to catch the attention of the politicians and "healthcare have's".